Month: August 2017

eCommerce is huge. It has taken all the stress and huge investment out of starting a business. As long as you have a computer and access to the internet, you can run you’re own eCommerce website. In this article, we’re going to discuss the benefits of eCommerce, where eCommerce is heading and just how easy it is to create eCommerce website in WordPress.

Advantages of Traditional Retail

Firstly, the huge advantage eCommerce holds over traditional retail is that there are no geographical boundaries. People from anywhere in the world can access your store and purchase from you. With the implication of eCommerce (eCommerce on mobiles) your customers can buy from you at home, at work, at the gym, on holiday, when picking up the kids…the possibilities are endless!

The other massive advantage to an eCommerce store is how little it costs to run. Little to no overheads, advertising and marketing that are all done online (and can prove to be more efficient for it) and no real estate necessary! You can take your business anywhere you please, just pack up your laptop and head wherever you heart takes you…as long as theres internet connection!

Along with these benefits, it is much easier to source products, you can provide an abundance of information on those products and give around the clock access to your store. While you’re sleeping, sales can be rolling in!

The Future of eCommerce

eCommerce is expanding at an exponential rate, with sales set to triple during 2017, and with so many stores taking their spot in the marketplace, offering a great customer experience is vital in order to succeed. One of the disadvantages to eCommerce is the lack of physicality when purchasing, meaning the customer has no option to try-before-buy. The only ways around this are to hope the customer knows exactly what they want (which is unlikely, and won’t help your sales figures), or offer a brilliant customer experience, building trust, loyalty and rapport.

Some establishments have started offering gaming as a way of boosting their customer engagement. Companies such as Chipotle and Regency Furniture have both employed this tactic, and Forbes magazine argues that this will lead the way for eCommerce.

Starting Your Own eCommerce Store

Getting started with eCommerce is easier now than ever before. If you use a platform such as WordPress, there are a multitude of different plugins all designed specifically to give you a stress free experience. The start up costs are absolutely minuscule compared to that of building a physical business. Back then you’d have to pay for office space, a shop front, employees and possibly wholesale of stock. Now all you’ll need up front is a hosting plan, which is like renting a your own little piece of the internet, with your name on it.

From there you can use free WordPress themes to ensure your site is aesthetically pleasing, you may want to purchase one later on but there are plenty of great free ones when you’re just beginning. Then you can use the WooCommerce plugin to set up your store, and everything you’ll need is there, from displaying products to accepting payments. If you’d like more detail on How to create an eCommerce website in WordPress, check out this video: